Major in History


The History Department undergraduate program consists of 16 courses in history (six lower-division—the preparation for the major; 10 upper-division—the major). Each course must be taken for a letter grade. Completion of program results in a Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) in History. For questions, please e-mail the History Undergraduate Counselors at Undergrad@history.ucla.edu.

Students can also utilize one of the following major sheets based on when they entered the program:

Learning Outcomes

The History major has the following learning outcomes –

  • Demonstrated appropriate mastery of a specialized area of history
  • Demonstrated critical understanding of current scholarly concerns, literature, and debates
  • Identification and analysis of primary sources
  • Design and execution of a research project, drawing on primary sources and appropriate scholarly literature
  • Demonstrated ability to organize and present a brief oral presentation about research

Declaring Premajor or Major

While students are completing the lower-division preparation for the major courses, they may be classified as History premajors. Students are eligible to declare the History Pre-major after completing one lower-division history course with a passing letter grade.

Students are eligible to declare the History Major after completing two lower-division history courses and one Introduction to Historical Thinking/Practice course (either HIST 94 or HIST 96W or HIST 97) with passing letter grades.

In addition, students must be in good academic standing (2.0 cumulative GPA) and have completed at least 45 overall units.

History Premajor/Major Request Form

Preparation for the Major

Required: Six lower-division courses history courses as follows: two history survey courses selected from History 1A, 1B, 1C, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, M4, 5, 8A, 8B, 8C, 9A, 9C, 9D, 9E, M10A, 10B, 11A, 11B, 12A, 12B, 12C, 13A, 13B, 13C, 14, 20, 21, or 22; one course selected from History 94, 96W, or 97A through 97O; three additional lower-division history courses (except History 19, 89, 89HC, 99).

Transfer Students

Transfer applicants to the History major with 90 or more units must complete the following introductory courses prior to admission to UCLA: one semester (or two quarters) of history of Western civilization or world history, one historical practice course, two semester (or three quarters) lower-division history courses.

Transfer credit for the premajor courses is subject to department approval. Transfer students should consult with the undergraduate counselors before enrolling in any courses for the major.

Refer to the UCLA transfer admission guide for up-to-date information regarding transfer selection for admission.

The Major

Required: At least 10 upper-division history courses, including (1) two courses in U.S. history, (2) two courses in non-Western history from the same area (i.e., Latin America, Asia, Near East, Africa, Science & Technology), (3) two courses in European history, (4) one course from 187A through C187R, and (5) one capstone seminar from the History 191 series.

The requirements for U.S., non-Western, and European history may be fulfilled with either upper or lower-division courses, but majors are required to take a minimum of 10 upper-division history courses.

One of the 16 courses for the preparation for the major and major must predominantly cover history before 1700 CE, selected from History 1A, 1B, 2C, 3A, 8A, 9A, 9C, 9D, M10A, 11A, 11B, 14, 20, 21, 102A, M103A through 105B, M106, 107A, 107B, 108A, 108B, M110A through 111B, 112A through 119D, 121A, 121B, 122A, 122B, 122C, 124A, 125D, M127A, 128A, 128B, 129A, 130, M133A, 135A, 136A, 157A, 157B, 162B, 164B, 166A, 167A, 167B, 168A, 169A, 170A, M170C, 172A, 172B, M173C, 174A, M174D, 176A, 176E, M182A, M182B, M185D, M185F, M185G, M185I, or M186A.

There is no language requirement for the major; however, students wishing to enter the honors program or planning to do graduate work in history are strongly encouraged to pursue language study early in their undergraduate careers.

Capstone Major

The History major is a designated capstone major. Undergraduate students take a capstone seminar in which they demonstrate mastery of a specialized area of history and a critical understanding of current scholarly concerns, literature, and debate, then design and complete a research project using those primary sources and literature.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT CREDIT IN HISTORY

Effective Fall quarter 2002 for entering freshmen, no course credit is granted for any AP examination.